This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
1. Technical Field
The invention relates to an apparatus for stacking notes of value or financial documents, in particular banknotes, in a transport container into which the financial documents are successively inserted through a front entry area upright on a stacking surface of a stacking area against a rear pressure device which, with increasing number of inserted financial documents, is adjustable such that a value note stack of a predetermined length is formed between the rear pressure device and a front pressure device.
2. Discussion
An apparatus of this type is used, for example, in value note machines which can take in and/or dispense financial documents. Financial documents or value notes are, for example, banknotes, coupons or papers of value. Mostly, the financial documents, in particular banknotes, are kept ready in a stacked manner in cassettes which can be inserted into an output machine. Here, the cassettes serve as transport containers which, outside of the machine, are closed by means of security devices and can only be opened by authorized people. When the value note machine has an input function, then input financial documents are sorted in the machine according to value and/or format and are then supplied to cassettes in which they are stacked upright on a stacking surface. When a cassette is filled with stacked financial documents, then it can be removed from the machine and then likewise serves as a transport container.
Usually, the financial documents are inserted into their transport container such that, when being supplied into its entry area, they stand upright in the container cross-section and are pushed along the bottom of the transport container serving as a stacking surface by means of a front pressure device in the form of at least one vane wheel having rigid and/or flexible vanes against the rear pressure device so as to rest against this rear pressure device. When financial documents are progressively supplied, a value note stack consisting of upright value notes is formed, the growth of which is made possible by an appropriately adjusted movement of the rear pressure device in stacking direction.
It is already known to store financial documents not only in cassettes which are closed on all sides and serve as transport containers but to also use security bags of film material for this purpose. This becomes, for example, necessary when relatively complex cassettes are dispensed with or the transport of the financial documents is otherwise secured and thus special cassettes are not necessary.
A security bag for financial documents is, for example, known from the document WO 2006/018120 A1. It serves to transport banknotes and has an access opening and a closing device for closing the access opening. The security bag is comprised of several portions, and the access opening and the closing device are formed in the film material. The automatic filling of such a security bag in a value note input machine of the afore-described type as well as a transport cassette are not described.
In order to make it possible that a machine for the automatic processing of financial documents, in particular banknotes, can also be used in connection with security bags, according to document US 2007/0145064 A1 a security bag can be provided in a closable and transportable value note cassette. This security bag is provided with closing and stacking elements, the construction of which is adapted to the cassette construction. It can only be removed from the cassette, when a sliding closure guided in the cassette has previously been manually actuated. Such a solution is technically complex and does not allow the use of a security bag independent of a cassette.